“Good.” He took another pull on his beer. “Cause if you fuck it up this time, now that I know, I’m gonna have to beat the shit out of you. And I don’t wanna be doing that. You know I gotta get back at Track for beating me in the last like ten races we’ve run. I don’t have time to train to beat you up.”
“I wouldn’t block a single hit, Phoenix. But I don’t plan on breaking her heart any time soon. If anything, being in the hospital… yeah, it put a lot of shit into perspective for me. I’m happy to be home. And I’m happy Mae is by my side.”
A gentle knock sounded against the bedroom door. Mae had excused herself from everyone while they enthusiastically dug into the food to use the bathroom, but a weird pain had stopped her in her tracks on the way back out.
She was just sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing over the tight spot on her belly, when Lily’s head popped through the door.
“Hey, everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just got this weird stitch in my side. Had to sit for a second, but it’s passing.”
Lily walked into the room, sitting down next to her. “I had those all the time with Sage. Especially in the first trimester. It feels like things are popping and cramping all over the place as your body gets used to all the new hormones and growing baby.”
“I’m sure that’s all it was.” She meant to sound more confident that she did, and Lily clearly caught on to her worry.
“Do you want me to get Stone? Have you told him?”
Mae bit down on her bottom lip.
“No,” she admitted.
“Mae…”
“I feel terrible about it, Lily. You don’t need to lecture me. I was just trying to focus on his first week home. With his family here. The neurologist was clear. His day to day routine needed to be as normal and stress free as possible.” Mae dropped her voice. “Becoming a dad is going to be very stressful. I just needed time to know it wouldn’t set back his recovery.”
Lily nodded. “For what it’s worth, I wasn’t going to lecture you. I just wanted you to know that I can’t imagine how difficult it’s been to keep this all to yourself.”
“Well,” Mae blew out her breath. “He basically asked menearly point blank this morning what was wrong. I almost spilled the news right then, but Hawk barged in and ruined the moment. So, I’m going to tell him tonight. I know the doctor wanted to keep everything even keeled…. but he’s not stupid. And I want to share this with him. I’m sick of hiding it.”
Lily’s hand landed on Mae’s arm. “I am so proud of you. I hate that the guys ganged up on you?—”
“I know you do,” Mae chuckled. “But that was also my decision. I want Stone to be better. And it feels like… I don’t know. It feels like I’ve been given this second chance with him. If he remembers what happened that night… it feels like he would have chosen to do things differently. I don’t know. That probably sounds so stupid.”
“No. It sounds hope-filled and romantic.”
“Like I said, stupid.”
Mae’s stomach lurched, the pain deep inside pulling at her womb and her heart. Her hand instinctively cradled her abdomen as she blew out her breath, waiting for it to subside. But it didn’t. No matter how many slow, deep breaths she took, no matter how subtly she shifted the way she was seated, the pain didn’t change.
“Are you okay?” Lily leaned over, the worry evident on her face.
“Yeah. I just… these feel bad. How can I tell if they are normal cramps or something to be worried about?”
“Sit tight, I’ll get you some water. You might be dehydrated, and that can make things scarier.”
That had to be it. She’d been so busy taking care of her friends and Stone that she’d forgotten to take care of herself.
Sorry, little one.
“Oh, Lily. Could you just grab a ginger ale for me? I’m not sure water would go over well right now.”
Lily smiled, the worry that lingered there a second before now fully gone. “Sure thing.”
It only took her friend a minute to return, and of course she had a plate of snacks with her.
“Drink this. And eat something. If it doesn’t get better, you should call your doctor,” Lily whispered.
“I haven’t even made an appointment with them yet.”
